Sliding writing board for desks



April. 21, 1936. R. B. POE

SLIDING WRITING BOARD FOR DESKS Filed March 12, 1955 Taber! Eur-n5 Patented Apr. 21, 1936 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE 2,037,919 sunme WRITING noann ron DESKS Robert Burns Poe, Tacoma, Wash. Application March 12, 1935, Serial No.10,641

8 Claims.

invention relates to ofllce and other desks and especially to the sliding writing boards usu ally mounted thereon. It has been customary to provide oilice desks with a sliding writing bdard located immediately above the stack of drawers, and below thetop or cover of the desk, for the purpose of holding papers, or of writing or signing papers. This sliding board has been adapted to be pulled straight'out from the desk when in use, and to he slid in under the top of the desk and over the top drawer thereof, whennot in use. The result of this construction has been that while the sliding board is in use,

the top drawer, which usually contains all those appliances which are most often used, is practically useless when the board is in use, and it becomes necessary to remove the papers from the said board and to slide it back into its retrieved position in order to use the drawer. Further, the customer or client is often seated beside the desk and, if it is necessary for him to sign papers, it is quite usually required for him to move'his chair in order to bring himself into. a writing position, with the result that this action interposes a psychological resistance detrimental to the completion of the deal.

The objects of my invention are to provide a sliding board which will, first, permit the complete use of the upper drawer without disturbing any papers on the sliding board; second, permit the sliding board to be swung around 'in front of the customer or client; third, permit the sliding board to be swung in either direction from over the drawer, and fourth, be controlled in all its positions. A further object of my invention is to provide an improved guiding means for a sliding board.

I attain these and other objects by the devices I and arrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a desk, the top thereof being broken away to reveal the sliding board thereunder, the upper drawer being pulled open, and the sliding board having been ,pulled out to its first extended position;'

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the said sliding board having been swung to the rightf Fig. 3 is a similar view, in which the said sliding board is swung to the left;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the underside of the sliding board, showing the guide groove therein;

Fig.5 is a vertical section of a portion of the desk and sliding board, sho1 ong the guide roller in the groove in the sliding board; and

portion l5 to a point near of the board, and proceeds thence at an angle Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a desk showing the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views. 7, v

The desk is provided with atop I, suitably sup- 5 ported by the usual construction comprising, in part, a corner post 2, and a dividing partition 3, between which a stack of drawers 4 is mounted. A cross bar 5 extends across between the said post 2 and partition 3 immediately above each of 0 the said drawers. The upper cross bar 5 is spaced a suflicient distance below the top of the cover i to permit the hereinafter described sliding board to pass under the said cover I. A roller 6 is mounted on a vertical axis, comprising a pivot 1 15 mounted substantially in the' center of the upper cross bar 5. The said roller 6 turns freely on the pivot I and is held in position thereby. The sliding writing board 8, is oi substantially the same size as is usual in such, boards, ex- 20 cept that its inner end is extended as hereinafter described. The above described roller 6 is received in a groove 9 in the underside of the writing board 8, and this groove 9 extends in a straight line rearward from the front end of the 25 board, parallel with its side edges, a distance substantially equal to the distance which the 1 writing boards at present in use may bepulled out from the desk. In other words, so long as the roller 6 is in this .straight the groove, the said board acts exactly as the. boards at present in use. As shown inthe drawing, it will be seen that the right hand e'dge ill of the board 8 is cut inward at about 45- angle, to form the inclined edge II which extends to a 35 point l2 substantially in line with the central axis of the outer part of the board; and from that point l2 rearward, the right hand edge l3 extends parallel with the left hand edge M of the said board to the end thereof. Similarly, the 40 groove 9 turns toward the left, as viewed from above, at a point slightly rearward from the junction' of the right hand edges l0 and II, and proceeds parallel with said inclined edge ll along the the left hand edge It 45 substantially" tangent to a line drawn from the point |2,to the said groove, said portion Hilying between the edges l3 and I! of the rearmost end of the board. These grooves 9, l5, and ii are shown as straight lines, but it is to be understood that they may be curved and may vary in angle and length in accordance with the" desired motion of the Sliding board. Iprefer to'1 line. the several grooves with a metal lining central portion 9 of 30 V in Fig. 5, in order to reduce thewear of the roller thereon, and to facilitate the motion of the sliding board.

Thus it will beseen that if the board is pulled out a distance such that the roller 6 is in the straight portion 9 of the groove the motion of the board is exactly as at present in common use, but that if the board is pulled out straight from such position so that the roller 6 travels in the 10 groove I! to the junction of the grooves l5 and,

the board not only travels outward but also sideways, to the position shown in Fig. 1, thus exposing about 40% of the drawer on the left hand side thereof. In this position if it is desired to swing the board away from the desk, the angle I! of the right hand side thereof, between the edges ii and i3, engages the corner of the post 2, and forms the center of the turning movement so that the roller 8 rides in the groove it until the left hand rear comer of the board engages the partition 2, separating-the board space from the rest of the desk, and in this position the board 8 may make an angle of about forty-five degrees with the usual straight-out position, exposing about 85% of the drawer as shown in Fig. 2. If, however, it is desired to swing the board inward from the position shown in Fig. 1', it-is pulled further out till the roller 6 engages the end of the groove [6, and it is then swung toward the left 80 until its left side I! engages the partition 3, and its inner right hand corner engages the right hand side of the space for the board, as shown in Fig. 3, in which position about 76% of the drawer is exposed. Thus it will be seen that only 85 a very small .area of the drawer is permanently covered by the board so long as it is in use. Such area may well be proportioned at less than 3% of the drawer area. Also, it is evident that the board may be moved around, with its full load 40 of papers, in accordance with the conditions,

. without disturbing the papers, so that it may be removed out of the way of persons passing, or it may be swung to a position in front of the chair of the client for the purpose of securing 45 his signature or for his inspection of papers thereon.

It is obvious that the sliding board may be made the reverse of the illustrated form, adapted for use on the left corner of the desk, and that 69 many variations in the details may be incorporated therein without departing from the spirit of my invention as outlined in the appended claims.

My improved writing board may be considered 5 as being composed of a rectangular front section, corresponding with the usual writing board as at present in common use; a rectangular rear section which has the two-fold function of (a) eugaging the side of the compartment into which .60 the board slides to act as a stop or limit for the turning-of the board when pushed to one side or the other, and (b) to form the back-brace to hold the board horizontal against the leverage of the'load thereon. These two fimctions call for 66 opposing solutions, in that the closer the two corners, of this rear section, are together the greater degree of angle the board may be turned and, the further they are apart the greater-the bracing action. I conceive that a satisfactory compromise is arrived at if the width of the rear 5 section is about one-half that of the front section. The front and rear sections are joined preferably by a trapezoidal section'as shown. 1

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 10

1. A sliding board adapted to be slid into and out of a compartment, comprising a board divided into a rectangular front section and a narrower rectangular rear section, said front and rear sections being joined by a non-rectangular 15 intermediate section; and means adapted to guide said board as it is being drawn out of the com partment and to permit it to be swung laterally to one side or the other after the front and intermediate sections have been drawn from the compartment.

2. A sliding board as set forth in claim 1, wherein said rear portion is positioned to one side of the center of said board.

3. A sliding board as set forth in claim '1, 25 wherein said intermediate portion is trapezoidal in form.

4. A sliding board as set forth in claim 1, wherein the edge joining said front and rear portions forms a straight line.

5. A sliding board as set forth in claim 1, wherein said guiding means comprises a groove formed in the underside of said board and a fixed roller mounted on the compartment and positioned within said groove.

6. A sliding board, comprising a board having a straight edgeon one side and an irregular edge on the opposite side, and being adapted to be slid into and out of a compartment; together with means adapted to'guide said board whereby the 40 board is moved bodily laterally to keep the irregular edge closely adjacent to the corner of the compartment as the board is moved therepast.

7. A sliding board, comprising a board having a straight edge on one side; a wide front edge at right-angles thereto; a shorter rear edge parallel to said front edge; and an irregular edge opposite to said first straight edge: together with means to guide said board whereby the board is moved laterally to keep the irregular edge closely adiacent to the corner of the compartment as the board is moved" therepast, and is permitted to turn around the said corner to swing the front portion of the board laterally out of position. v

8.Aslidingboardassetforthinclaim7, wherein said means for guiding said board comprises a groove formed in the lower side of said board, said groove followingfsubstantiallyparallel to said irregular side as far as the pointwhere 00 the board may be turned around the corner, and thence at an angle to permit the board to be thus turned; and a fined roller mounted on the compartment and positioned within said groove.

mesa-r BURNS ros. 

